One Nation
by Magnumus
Summary: 'One Nation', a phrase that sounded so familiar during the war, yet now, that term had new meaning. There was no Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, or Air Nomads, only 'One Nation'.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Do not own anything related to ATL:A.

'One Nation', a phrase that sounded so familiar during the war, yet now, that term had new meaning. There was no Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, or Air Nomads, only 'One Nation'. Originally they proclaimed it was a power that everyone should have, and when this wasn't possible, it was deemed a power that no one should have. Sozin's War was not ended by the legendary Avatar, but by those that resented Benders, shortly after this they saw every Bender as another warlord out for world domination. When those that were desperate couldn't reach what they desired via means of power and greed, they outlawed Bending through force, and eventually fear. At first the stronger Benders mysteriously vanished, then there was public executions against allegedly guilty citizens who just happened to be associated with Bending. Soon Bending just seemed to disappear, the few that could bend, wouldn't in fear of being pushed into slavery, or worse death. Non-benders decided there was no need for 'Four Nations', one nation would be unified, there would be no war, no violence, no corruption, but things aren't always as they seem.

Cities alike Ba Sing Se started popping up all over the Nations, strict rules, high walls, and a number of anti-bending laws. Any family know to have ties to Benders would instantly be lower class citizens, no matter of their previous status. A lot of the housing estates in the lower class area's would be no more than slums and shacks, the crumbling remains of times now forgotten. Constantly monitored for any Bender activity, and if any detected, severe punishment is sure to follow. There are frequent rebellions, usually being dealt with quickly and aggressively but never quite eradicated. The slave trade is what drives the cities, Earth Benders being made to mine for rare materials, which can then be used to further the development of upper class areas, dismal conditions, the threat of public exposure forcing those that work to never try and flee. Water Benders would be forced to drive the turbines that power the cities while Fire Benders would produce the heating that gets pumped all over the upper class areas. Though there are rumours of Air Benders, whatever number there are would be small due to the constant threat of detection and execution.

The world is not one of fairy tales and stories, there are no myths and legends that tell of a great hero to rise from the ash. The old speak of the Avatar, the one who was meant to end the great Fire Nation war, while others speak of him as the person who caused the non-bender revolt in the first place, had the Avatar acted sooner the non-benders wouldn't of been pushed into their desperate position and fought back, creating an oppressed world. Because of this many people have forgotten about the Avatar, assumed to be a victim in the non-bender revolt, if not already being lost during Sozin's War. Other rumours speak of the infamous General Cao, the man who pushed for an Anti-Bending Revolt, to be the one who captured and ended the Avatar life in a declaration of his hate towards Benders.

General Cao, one of the most ruthless people you're likely to hear about, he announced himself the mastermind behind the Anti-Bender movement, after he failed to produce a way to gain the gift of bending, he used his military background to destroy it, even without bending he was able to create weapons of war, taking gunpowder from the Fire Nation supplies after the War had ended and using it to create rifles. With a growing group of followers and a plentiful supply of weaponry he was able to create an elite guard, who were strong and able enough to strike fear into anyone that didn't see his way of thinking. He used his fierce and brutal attitude to keep any Benders, under his protection, in check, though he had a deep hatred for the bending kind, he was well aware of what power they possessed and made sure he could control it at all times.

Who am I to know all of this? Just a wanderer, one who has met many great people and heard many great things on his wanderings.

* * *

><p>The autumn wind blew gracefully over the rice fields, swaying it here and there, much as if there were some superior force pushing and pulling it one way and or another. Row after row of rice plants dancing with nature, it was a beautiful sight, one that is missed by most people but not all, not one especially.<p>

At this time of year, when the sun was low enough to produce a golden aura across the sky, highlighting the tips of each leaf as they were thrown around in the breeze, a lone boy sat in the centre of the field. His brown cloak flapping in the wind as he readjusted straw hat after a strong gust. Working on in the fields for the past 2 years had given the boy a lean build, he idly waved his makeshift 'sickle on a stick' around his body, pretending to control the winds that were flowing around him.

"Aang! Hurry in now, your father needs help securing the shutters, this storm will be here any minute."

Aang turned to face where the voice had came from and began jogging back to the small farmers house.

"Sorry Father, there's just something about that fresh feeling before a storm, makes me feel like I'm-"

"-Flying." The older man chuckled, "Come now, we need to secure these last few shutters."

Aang smiled as he joined his father in closing up the last shutters and returned to the warmth of the house. His mother had already set out a meal for them on their arrival inside, they ate in silence, listening to the wind picking up fiercely and the rain pounding away at the roof. Aang had always been nervous during storms, while the feeling before them electrified him, the thought of being trapped in one frightened him. He would often look for company during these times, covering the feeling of uneasiness with stories of the past. His memory went as far as 2 years back, when he was first found by his parents, according to his father the only information they were able to find out was that his name was Aang.

His uneasiness would slowly dissipate as he was told of stories of Sozin's War and how this year would mark its 50th year since it had ended. Aang had always wondered what his life had been like before meeting his parents. Why had no one looked for him? Did he even have a family?

These types of thoughts would stick with him long into his slumber, that was until he was woken by the loud banging at the door. Shortly after, he could hear his parents leaving their room to investigate, his fathers heavy footsteps echoing off the bare walls, his mothers quiet ones quickly following. The door was opened with a creak, suddenly there was a lot of disturbance, Aang ran to the top of the stairs glancing down to see two large men standing over the bodies of his parents.

"Mother! Father!" Aang shouted from the top of the stairs. He almost flew down the stairs catapulting himself into the intruders forcing them out of the door. He quickly grabbed for his farming tool and settled into an offensive stance prepared to attack at any moment.

The two men laughed as the approached the boy, he was clearly not a match for two full grown men.

"Gather your energy young one." Aang lost concentration as he heard a ominous voice loom in his mind. He noticed the men trying to enter again and attempted to warn them off with a quick swipe of his weapon. Suddenly the wind picked up, the shutters banged violently but the men took no notice. Aang tightened his grip on the staff and swiped again this time with a lot more force with intention to wound, but instead of contact being made, an almighty wind forced its way through the house breaking open all of the shuttered windows, blowing up any locked doors, and knocking the men off their feet.

"Hes a- He's a Bender!" One of the men screamed over the roaring winds, before backing away. Aang wasn't sure what they were referring to, or where the sudden gust had came from, but decided he'd take the opportunity and take a step forward to challenge the men. Aang's eyes seemed to burn with ferocity, tears freely flowing, the men could tell their was something unsettling about this boy, and quickly departed into the night. His staff dropped bouncing off the floor, as he fell back against the doorframe. He stared down at the bodies of his parents, rain and gales still beating against the house whipping at his parents clothing. He couldn't think straight, the events that had lead up to this moment all seemed to be a blur, he tried to convince himself that it was just a bad nightmare, but there was one thing he couldn't shake. That voice.

"It's time for us to meet Aang." The ominous voice gently stated.

A/N: More explanation as to what the hell is going on in the second chapter (:


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Don't own A:TLA

Aang's parents had been murdered unnecessarily by common men just after petty belongings. Nevertheless it had left the young boy in disarray, he still couldn't believe such a random act had happened, in the middle of the storm, this was just something more than fuelled his uneasiness about the matter. There had to be something he could do, one thing sprang to mind, revenge, he'd get back at the people who did this. Make them pay, for what they did, he even tried to justify the idea with thoughts of them doing it to other people, in which he had to stop them. There were still things holding him back though, life lessons previously taught were trying to tell him something, unfortunately it was still all a blur to him, and there was one plain fact in front of him. The people who had taken and took care of him were gone.

As time passed sitting at the feet of their motionless bodies, Aang decided that he needed to at least see them off. He pulled their bodies back into the house, deciding that in the morning when the storm had cleared he would give them a proper burial. For now he tacked up some boarding to the windows to stop the winds from blowing through the house, then collapsing into his father's favourite chair, taking in its scent as if to gain wisdom his recently deceased. Time rolled on as the young boy fell into a slumber to the sound of a easing storm.

He awoke in a very foggy environment, barely able to see his hands in front of him; there was an odd familiarity with the place, like he had been here before. It felt like there was almost a historical wisdom about the place, so much age and experience in this place. Then it hit him, was he dreaming, about the spirit world?

"Welcome Aang" A voice said behind him, he knew that voice..

He quickly span around to become face to face with an old man in Fire Nation attire.

"Wait.. Aren't you Avatar Roku?" Aang shakily asked, recalling the old pictures that his parents had shown him.

"I'm glad to know you have knowledge of me, this may make the task easier to explain. You see Aang, you may have realised but the world is in a bad place, the universe is completely out of balance and things will only get worse if things are fixed, I am ashamed to pass my failures onto you but the world needs you." Roku said slowly.

"Needs.. Me? Why me?" Aang questioned, he had almost forgot what had happened only moments ago in the real world, so many questions and thoughts filling his mind.

"Aang, I understand you have been through a lot, we spirits know of your past, but time is not something we can afford to lose, you have a great force within you." Roku explained slowly, "You are what controls the balance between the elements and their energies, for this reason you must be tasked with a heavy burden."

"B-But that's not possible, I can't even bend an element!" Aang quickly retorted.

"Understand Aang that those markings that you hide are actually signs of a mastery in an element. A group known as the Air Nomads, mark their Master Airbenders with those Tattoo's. Due to your spiritual heritage you were just relearning what you had known thousands of times already, this is why you were able to master the element at such a young age."

Aang pulled up his sleeves to trace the blue markings, contemplating if they were real, he had never really known where they had came from.

"But I've had these for as long as I could remember, are you saying I'm a master Airbender? How is that possible, I don't know anything about Airbending!" He couldn't believe what he was being told, Aang the farmboy a Master Airbender?

"It seems you lost memories along with your knowledge of bending, both will return with time, but this isn't something we can wait for." Roku concluded sternly. He couldn't help but feel guilty about pushing his mistakes onto the young boy but circumstances meant he couldn't dilute the truth.

"So wait.. you know about my past? Where I came from?" Aang desperately asked.

Roku gazed down at the boy, debating how much should be said.

"You were born into the Air Nomads, showed signs that you would be the next Avatar when you were very young. When you were around 12, you were trapped in a storm, due to the nature of the Avatar Spirit, when its host is in mortal danger, you are imbued with the power of all of your past lives and were able to protect yourself via the use of the Avatar Spirit, unfortunately, events afterwards which we couldn't control meant you received trauma prior to being found and lost your memories." Roku carefully explained. He decided some facts Aang would have to learn for himself.

Aang suddenly felt everything fading away. He was being drawn back to the physical world.

"Roku, wait!" Aang wasn't done, he was so unsure about his life, he had some many questions.

"Aang, listen carefully," Roku's slowing fading voice sternly rang in Aang's ears, "you need to return to your training of the 4 elements, this task will be increasing difficult with the imbalance in the universe but persist young Avatar. You will face many trials on the path ahead, but all will help you progress to the final confrontation." At this Roku's voice ended and completely faded away.

Aang woke up back in his house, realisation dawned on him, all what he had just experienced now buzzing through his mind. But one thing first, his parents burial, and then, he would start on his path.

* * *

><p>The ice tundras of the Southern Regions were as just as cold as ever, less and less people ventured over them though, not since the city had been built. That was where all the trade was, all the supplies, all the warmth. One can grow to miss the warmth if you were born into it, but there were some that didn't need the slave driven furnaces, people who could survive in the frozen bitten landscapes. They were commonly known as outsiders, looked down upon by upper class city folk, though generally accepted by the lower class. The icy plains were a dangerous place though, anyone that wasn't experienced would certainly get into difficulty, but for those that had tamed its harshness could navigate its deadliest paths.<p>

"This is a deadly place you know!" A tall boy shouted breaking the silence.

"The deadliest thing out here right now is you, making such a racket" A girl of similar background replied.

The boy tall, well built, clearly a warrior in training, his distinctive brown hair carefully tied back into a wolf tail style. Weapon in one hand, rope in the other, he made his way to catch the girl up. She resembled him in many ways, down to the auburn skin tone and cerulean coloured eyes; she was slightly smaller with a much more feminine frame, that's not to say she couldn't hold her own in a tough spot.

"Sokka, you're just scaring our food away!" The girl was facing her sibling now.

"I think it's just because you're trying to do a man's job." Sokka replied casually, "I'll show you how it's done."

He crept forward, as to not spook any of the fish residing under the ice, he raised his striking arm, taking a deep breath, holding for the perfect moment and then, thrusting his weapon forward. As it left his hand, he watched as the spear impact the sheet of ice and ricochet in the opposite direction. The girl couldn't stifle her giggle as the boy pulled out his club and started wailing on the ice.

"You're right Sokka, I'm glad you were here to teach me the way of catching our food." She said with a smug grin.

Suddenly the girl silenced her voice; she turned feeling the presence of an ominous storm, as gusts of wind whistled over the tundra. She quickly pulled her hood up, turning her back to the wind.

"That's odd.." The girl noted to herself.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking Katara, I had the perfect technique!" Sokka responded thinking she was talking to him.

"No, the wind is blowing from the north, it never blows from the north.." Sokka turned to gaze at the approaching storm.

"Those clouds appeared from nowhere and this wind," The boy was clearly unsure about what this meant. "We should head back." He said firmly, resting a hand on his sister's shoulder.


End file.
